In a provocative interview with Fortune magazine, economist Robert Shiller (father of the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price indices) advised Americans not to regard real estate as a stellar investment unless they had golden guts, luck and the money to invest in glamour capitals like San Francisco and Manhattan.
He suggested Japan as a case study. "After Japan's 1980s bubble, prices fell for 15 consecutive years in that country's largest cities, and lost almost two thirds of their